Paris ? Homeless families and housing rights activists are taking over buildings and pitching tents in Paris to keep the issue on politicians’ agendas before France’s spring presidential elections.

A group calling itself the Children of Don Quixote recently set up tents for the homeless in the French capital.

And squatters, including at least 10 families, took over an empty building in central Paris sometime last week. They were discovered Monday, when a fire alarm went off, according to Yves Manet, deputy director general of the Lyonnaise de Banque group, which owns the building.

By Tuesday, families were busy outfitting the offices with bathtubs, showers and kitchens. Groups that organized the takeover were using some floors for their “ministry” to press politicians to take action.

“We cannot accept that there are buildings that are empty while there are people freezing outside,” said Alexandre Archenoult, a coordinator for Macaq, one of the three housing rights groups behind the takeover.